Hong Kong vs. Beijing: A Tale of Two Storms

Fallen trees block a road after a typhoon in Hong Kong on July 24, 2012. See more photos.

For observers in mainland China, it was a tale of two storms.

As typhoon Vicente moved away from Hong Kong—felling trees but leaving the city relatively unscathed—Chinese microbloggers began busily drawing comparisons between the relative lack of damage in the southern Chinese city and the devastation wreaked by weekend rainstorms in Beijing, which killed dozens and prompted a furor over the failure of the city’s sewer and drainage systems.

“Hong Kong and Beijing have a huge gap between them,” wrote one user on Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service, who praised Hong Kong’s infrastructure, adding that Hong Kong “rarely floods, even if a typhoon comes.”

At least 37 people died in fierce rains that lashed China’s capital city over the weekend, prompting flooding in various neighborhoods and structures to collapse in the downpour. Many residents were highly critical of how the city’s infrastructure failed to successfully weather the storm, with many asking why the city, with its all its investments in dazzling Olympic facilities, could still experience such deadly floods.

Alex Frangos for The Wall Street Journal

Washed-up debris litters the shores of Shek O in Hong Kong after the city was hit by typhoon Vicente.

By contrast in Hong Kong, while a handful of scattered flooding incidents were reported, Vicente appeared to pass through without doing any serious damage. City officials reported that 129 people had sought medical treatment at local public hospitals, but no casualties have been recorded. On Tuesday morning in downtown Hong Kong, scattered tree limbs lining the downtown streets, bus stop signs knocked akimbo and unusually empty, rain-streaked streets were the only evidence on the storm. Students and workers were warned to stay home while high-level storm signals were raised.

Mainland Chinese microbloggers also expressed admiration for the Hong Kong’s government’s promptness in sending out alerts about the typhoon, which was the strongest the city has experienced since 1999. “Look at how Hong Kong handles a typhoon,” wrote one Shenzhen-based user, commenting on reports that the government had issued warnings to taxi drivers reminding them not to illegally gouge passengers seeking transport during the heavy storm. “Hong Kong’s legal system is very robust,” the user wrote. “There’s no use in trying to bicker, let’s learn from their system.”

Alex Frangos for The Wall Street Journal

The lone road leading to the remote beach village of Shek O was severed by a towering pine tree that collapsed during the typhoon, bringing with it a tall chain linked fence.

Though Beijing authorities issued a constant stream of updates through the city government’s official Sina Weibo account after Saturday’s downpour began, many residents complained that the city has posted just a single warning the day prior to the storm’s arrival.

Another user offered a wryer comparison. “Why is it that capitalist Hong Kong gets the day off when there’s a typhoon, but we in socialist mainland China still have to go to work even in typhoons, no matter what the weather? Surely it can’t mean that capitalism is better than socialism?”

A man walked past an uprooted tree after Typhoon Vicente hit Hong Kong Tuesday. Hong Kong raised its typhoon warning to Signal 10 overnight, the highest level and the first time it has been used since 1999.
Tyrone Siu/Reuters…

The heavy rain and high winds started Monday afternoon, sending millions of workers home early and cramming the streets and subway tunnels with people trying to make sure they wouldn't be stranded overnight.
Associated Press/Kin Cheung…

Large waves broke on Hong Kong's coastline Monday. Gales of up to 101 miles per hour were recorded overnight, according to local public broadcaster RTHK. At least 129 people sought medical treatment at public hospitals, according to government officials.
EPA/Paul Hilton…

Firemen tried to remove a broken tree which hit a car during the typhoon in Hong Kong's rural Taipo district. The driver left the car safely.
Reuters/Bobby Yip…

Passengers slept on the ground after flights were cancelled due to the typhoon in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
Associated Press…

The lone road leading to the remote beach village of Shek O was severed by a towering pine tree that collapsed during the typhoon, bringing with it a tall chain linked fence.
Alex Frangos/The Wall Street Journal…

High winds partially detached bamboo construction scaffolding from a building in Sai Ying Pun.
Stuart Corby for The Wall Street Journal…

A construction worker securing the collapsed scaffolding on Tuesday.
Stuart Corby for The Wall Street Journal…

Display panels of a store at Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district were taped together as part of safety measures amid the typhoon.
Tyrone Siu/Reuters…

A taxi drove across an empty street in Central Tuesday. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, the storm warning had been lowered to Signal 3, a level where businesses and government offices can reopen. Trading on the local stock exchange is set to begin at 1 p.m. local time.
Tyrone Siu/Reuters…

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